Help new mom

[Theodorethehamster]

Hi,
I'm very new to hamsters. I have done a lot of research until purchasing my new and first long haired Syrian hamster yesterday afternoon. I have left Theodore alone as much as possible while still maintaining cleaning and food and water. Today while cleaning I noticed his poop was wet and a gooey texture. I'm concerned he has wet tail. He is too new to tell if his behavior is different. He seems very active though. The only thing I did differently was give him a little carrot today. Please help

[SKB_Hamsters]

Hello and Welcome to Hamster Central.

Sorry to hear you have a concern regarding Theodore health - from my past experience with wet tail they normally have a dirty bottom and tail which is covered with diarrhoea - this is what you need to look out for if you suspect wet tail (you should be able to see it without handling him). Although soft poo could have been caused by the carrot - I would recommend small pieces in moderation at the beginning to help them get accustomed to it.

I wouldn't recommend doing to much cleaning with a new hamster personally I don't like to touch anything in the cage until they had a full week to settle in so I don't cause any stress.

[cypher]

Hi & welcome to HC
Sorry to hear that Theodore may have a problem, you will need to keep a close eye on him just in case it is wet tail but it may just be that he's adjusting to new foods, are you feeding the same as he had in the shop where you bought him? Introduce any new foods very slowly & just give a tiny bit of any veg every few days until he's got used to having it, they can have it daily but you need to build up very slowly.
As SKB said do little or no cleaning, for the first few weeks at least just spot cleaning pee & don't change anything in the cage (apart from food & water) unless absolutely necessary so he has time to settle.